Shadowrun Campaign Bible
Megacorporations Big Ten The Big Ten, the AAA Megacorporations (as of 2070): *'Ares Macrotechnology', Detroit-based conglomerate of arms (Ares Arms, the original company), automobile (General Motors), and space (AresSpace, the former NASA) industries. Ares also owns Knight Errant Security, and Apple Computer, amongst its numerous divisions. The first American-based Megacorp also trumps up its “mom and apple pie” image, fostering strong brand image within the United Canadian and American States (UCAS). *'Aztechnology', a corporation from Aztlan (formerly Mexico, recreated in Aztec image) heavily involved in consumer goods and chemistry. The least-liked megacorp in the shadows, due to its nasty secret projects. *'Evo Corporation', a corp based in Vladivostok, Russia, that focuses on nano- and bio-technology, genetics research and other transhumanist technologies, and “metahuman factors engineering” (products made specifically for metas). The first corp to become transplanetary after establishing a Mars base. *'Horizon', A Los Angeles based media corporation new to the AAA scene in the 2060s that used the second Matrix crash to make its move. Horizon is a media and PR corporation that lists Tir Tairngire among its clients. While they are primarily invested in media and entertainment they are also strong in consumer goods, real estate, and pharmaceuticals. *'Mitsuhama Computer Technologies', started as money laundering operation for the Yakuza but soon surpassed their investors' income by a very large margin. Focuses largely on robotics, heavy machinery, and computers. *'NeoNET', created from Novatech’s merger with Transys Neuronet and Erika, pioneers of the new wireless Matrix, to form this powerhouse in the Matrix sector, but with diversified holdings in many other sectors. *'Renraku Computer Systems '(レンラク), mainly computer and arms-producing giant from Japan. Slowly rebuilding from both the Seattle Arcology debacle and the second Matrix crash. *'Saeder-Krupp Heavy Industries,' the world's largest corp. a German conglomerate based on the production of steel, heavy-industrial goods, cars (BMW), arms and communication in Europe. *'Shiawase Corporation '(シアワセ), an old business founded by the Shiawase family (幸 or 倖), which survived the turmoils of the early 21st century unscathed, quickly able to expand in energy production, biotech and environmental procedures. First to fight for and be granted megacorporate sovereignty (later called extraterritoriality): exemption of law on foreign soil. *'Wuxing Inc.', a Hong Kong-based company heavily focused on shipping and finance. Others *'DocWagon '''is an international AA Corporation, headquartered in Atlanta, CAS. It was a pioneer in the medical services industry by offering unique medical insurances including armed ambulance services and tracking/monitoring bracelets, colloquially known as "DocWagon™-type services". It since has been joined by various competitors, including CrashCart Medical Services, but DocWagon has remained the leader of the fast point-of-service emergency medical service market. *'Gaeatronics is an A-rated multinational corporation owned by the Salish tribe, with headquarters in Olympia in the Salish-Shidhe Council. The corporation is the largest one in the SSC and is primarily known for power generation, usually by eco-friendly means. It has a single fusion reactor on the Olympic peninsula, as well as using geothermal, wind, and solar energy. Much to the concern of Shiawase Atomics, Gaetronics has a near-monopoly on electricity production in the Salish-Shidhe Council and provides power to Seattle, Tir Tairngire, and the California Free State. The advertising slogan for Seattle is "Gaeatronics. Powering Seattle . . . Naturally." *'Lockheed '''is a megacorporation resulting from the merger of Lockheed, Martin Marietta, Northrup (Northrop Aircraft Company), and Grumman. It is mostly known in the aerospace and defense industries for it fixed-wing combat and military transport aircraft and avionic components. Its main competitor is Federated-Boeing, while both have Ares Macrotechnology as a subcontractor. *'Lone Star Security Services '(or LSSS), headquartered in Austin, Texas, CAS, is one of the more prominent public security companies in North America. It has contracts of municipal policing from Corpus Christi to Seattle. Lone Star operates directly in the CAS and the UCAS. It holds 62% of all security contracts in the UCAS. The percentage is even higher in the CAS, due to its public relations image as a reincarnation of the Texas Rangers. The corporation also runs many prisons for the UCAS and CAS federal governments. A subsidiary of Lone Star, Gendarmerie, is Quebec's main provider of law enforcement, border patrol, and customs. LSSS also deals with the private sector, providing Matrix, or conventional security to corporations and individuals. It also has non-security concerns, such as selling insurance or research. In most parts of North America, Lone Star thought to be synonymous with "the law", "the cops", or "the police", even though it remains, at its heart, a corporation. *'Paladin Medical Technologies is a cybertech and biotech company which had a significant presence in Seattle in 2070s. *'Rebel Network', headquartered in Seattle, is an up-and-coming Megacorporation, with offices and subsidiaries scattered across the globe by primarily in English speaking nations. The Rebel Network was originally founded as Rebel Enterprise Investments in 2050 supposedly on the back of money and information gained by Shadowrunners. By clever investment and the backing of up and coming musical and entertainment stars in Seattle, it slowly grew. *'Sakura Security' is a company based out of Yokohama, Japan devoted to conventional and matrix security. *'Sol Media '''is a AA megacorporation based in Barcelona, Spain. Its primary interests are in tourism, entertainment, and all aspects of media. Its subsidiaries include Terra Networks, Muxxic, Sol Media, SolEstudios, and Sol Vacaciones. *'Winter Systems of Manhattan, New York, UCAS is a security services provider and manufacturer of a variety of security devices. The rivals are Ares Macrotechnology in the field of security equipment and Lone Star as security contractor. *'''Zurich-Orbital Gemeinschaft Bank (Z-OG) is an extraterritorial corporation under the management of the Corporate Court the largest financial institution and bank in the world, wholly owned by the members of the Corporate Court. Because of its importance, specifically due to the debts owed to it by the Big Ten, it is also the most influential. Each AAA megacorporation has an equal number of shares, and thus ownership, of the bank and the CEOs of those megacorps elect the members of the board of directors. Archetypes Face Faces are charismatic individuals—they may be good looking, smooth talking, quick-witted, or just have a great force of personality. The face is usually the front-man at any meet and handles negotiations with Mr. Johnsons, dealers, info-brokers, and situations where legwork and networking is necessary. A face may be all natural, but more often than not they’re augmented by bioware such as tailored pheromones. Hacker Hackers are characters that specialize in computers, and accessing and manipulating data via the Matrix—either using augmented reality or going full-bore and using virtual reality to help them do their dirty work. Most hackers use customized computers called commlinks, often with personally written programs that manipulate the Matrix in ways beyond any sysop’s intention. While illegally logged into the Matrix, hackers can search and sift through information of all kinds, tap phone calls, and disable and enable other systems at will. Most hackers are experts in cybercombat—a battle of skills and programs against other hackers or intrusion countermeasures (IC). Rigger Riggers are a subset of hackers who focus on using and manipulating modern vehicles and drones. Many riggers are adept at controlling multiple drones at once and using them as “eyes and ears.” Others excel at “jumping into” vehicles through full virtual reality, effectively operating as if they were extensions of their own bodies. Similarly, security riggers—typically known as spiders—interface with the sim-enhanced security systems built into buildings and facilities. From this “web,” the spider’s reach spans the entire building, allowing him to see through sensors and mentally control security features like locks and hidden weaponry. For riggers looking for work on the sly, good smugglers are always in short supply, and piloting a T-bird across hostile borders or running BTL chips up and down the coast can be profitable shadow-ops. If getting down and dirty with the physical and electronic guts of your ride is more your thing, you can take tech-wiz jobs to modify vehicles according to a client’s (probably illegal) desires—a lucrative biz that also requires less travel. Street Samurai Street samurai are physically enhanced combat monsters. With implanted cyberware, bioware, and combat skills, they attempt to be the quickest, meanest, and strongest killing machines on the streets. Many of them cybernetically boost their reflexes to increase their action and reaction speeds, or boost their strength so that they can inflict more damage. Many are also lethal with firearms, and almost all have a smartlink system installed for increased precision in shooting. Some fight for honor, some because they get paid for it, and others because they are insane enough to go up against anything. Street samurai is a catch-all term—some characters may identify themselves as bodyguards, mercenaries, assassins, or with similar labels, but in general a character based around physical skills and non-magical augmentation can be called a street samurai—even if some of them don’t like the implication. Locations Seattle Seattle is a state of the UCAS on the Pacific Coast separated from the rest of the country by the Native American Nations. Seattle itself is located in the middle of Salish-Shidhe, its access to the Pacific Ocean passing through Salish-Shidhe waters in the Puget Sound and Juan de Fuca Strait. However the provisions of the Treaty of Denver give Seattle unlimited access to the passage. It is sometimes called Seattle State or Seattle Metroplex. Districts *'Auburn': Auburn is an industrial district of smoke-belching factories and blue-collar (read: downtrodden) workers. *'Bellevue': Bellevue is also home to many of the metroplex’s wealthy citizens, who will shell out a lot of cred to keep their homes private and well-protected. *'Downtown': Downtown Seattle is where things are happening. The hub of the metroplex, this district is the home of many of the major corporations and government factions likely to employ shadowrunners. Downtown also has the plex’s trendiest nightclubs and places to see and be seen. *'Everett': Everett is similar to its “sister city,” Tacoma. Both are important ports with busy waterfronts, and are also important centers of organized crime in Seattle. Everett under the control of the Mafia, with some presence of Yakuza and Seoulpa Rings. It sees considerable smuggling activity by land and sea. The district is also home to one of Seattle’s larger-scale gang conflicts. *'Fort Lewis': Fort Lewis or Fort Lewis Military Reservation houses the Seattle Metroplex Guard, McChord Airfield and UCAS Army Pacific Command. It's a major UCAS training base, and houses many military and military related personel, projects and affiliates. In some ways Fort Lewis functions as extraterritorial property, but under the control of the UCAS military instead of a megacorporation. *'Puyallup': Puyallup also known as Puyallup Barrens is a district of Seattle, devastated by the Mount Rainier eruption decades ago. It is a poor and unsafe district. Where Redmond is a nightmare of urban decay and gang violence, Puyallup is a post-disaster landscape reshaped by the violent forces of nature and abandoned by most of civilization. Metahuman communities and squatter settlements struggle to survive without many essentials such as power, clean water and proper waste disposal. Fine ash from Mount Rainier falls over parts of Puyallup like dirty, gray snow. *'Redmond': The Redmond Barrens provide a stark contrast to the order and civilization of areas like Downtown Seattle and Tacoma. Redmond is virtually lawless, except in the areas that border other districts. Redmond is also known for its notorious gang fights and violence, scaring many away from the area. *'Renton': Renton’s problems are less serious than those of the Redmond Barrens, but the district has definitely seen better days. Renton has more gangs than any other area in Seattle except Redmond and is also a hotbed of Humanis Brotherhood activity, making anti-metahuman sentiment all too common. *'Snohomish': Snohomish is one of the most sparsely populated Districts. Seventy percent of the residents work outside of Snohomish, which makes commuter traffic quite heavy along every highway going in and out of the district. Primarily agricultural. There is a conflict between major agribusinesses and small farm owners in the area. *'Tacoma': Tacoma is major transportation hub, particularly due to its docks and railway station. It is also a major manufacturing center. The district is the third most important economic center for Seattle, after Downotown and Bellevue. Tacoma lies at the heart of the conflict between the Mafia and the Yakuza in Seattle, making mob violence commonplace. The violence has lasted the last twenty years with little sign of subduing. Hong Kong Since winning its independence from the People's Republic of China the Hong Kong Free Enterprise Zone has been governed directly by the corporations that inhabit it. There are two main governing bodies in Hong Kong: the Board of Governors and the Executive Council. Tir Tairngire The Tir is ran by the Council of Princes established during the creation of Tir Tairngire. The head of state and government is the High Prince. The national military and police force are one and the same, forming two halves of the Peace Force. Tir Tairngire did not sign the Business Recognition Accords. Megacorporations can only operate in Tir Tairngire through subsidiaries which do not enjoy extraterritoriality. The Council of Princes, as a collective, owns at least 5% of the subsidiary. The head corporate officer must be a Tir subject unless the Council gives a special dispensation. The High Prince can allow a megacorporation to operate without these restrictions by giving a "Prince's Seal." The Tir keeps itself highly isolated from the outside world. The Peace Force patrols the borders detain anyone found crossing. Notable Organizations Hóng Lóng Union (Red Dragon Triad) The Hóng Lóng Union is a triad managed out of Hong Kong with interests in Seattle, California, Japan, and China. Koyama-gumi (Yakuza) The Koyama-gumi is a yakuza clan located in Seattle, UCAS. Finnigan Family (Irish Mafia) The Finnigan's are one of the most brutally violent organized crime families in the UCAS. Based out of Boston, the Seattle branch is controlled by Isaac Toole. Humanis Brotherhood (Anti-Meta Group) The Brotherhood is a human supremacist organization, dedicated to limiting or removing rights from metahumans. They also have a limited anti-Awakened message, which usually gets drowned out in their anti-metahuman rhetoric. Jokerz (Street Gang) The Jokerz are a large street gang operating in Seattle that take their inspiration from the Joker, Batman's nemesis. They tend to dress in clownishcostumes and make-up as did their namesake. They especially enjoy practical jokes that turned deadly and generally creating chaos. Jokerz have been observed engaging in vandalism and then attempting to extort money from anyone who are believed to be amused by their antics. Furies (Go-Gang) The Furies are the largest Go-Gang in Seattle controlling much of I-5. Notable NPC's Danny Boy - Danny Boy is a human fense living in Tacoma. Danny is linked to the Irish mob by his cousin and is usually a good source of information. Danny is fond of fine NAN tobacco and Irish whiskey. Three Eye - Three Eye is an AmerInd shaman who lives in a small lodge near the waterin Tacoma. Category:Shadowrun